An Analysis of Natural Factors Affecting the Dispersal and Establishment of Iron Age III (800-550 B.C) Settlements in the Western Zayandeh-Rud River Basin (West and Northwest of Isfahan)

Abstract

Humans are always effect to their surroundings, which makes it possibleto create habitable environments and create habitat patterns that fit thesurrounding environment. The interaction between human being andenvironment either in the form of human effect on the environment orthe environment effect on the human, cannot be considered out of theenvironment. According to this approach in archaeology, environmentalfactors have an important role in assessing settlements in each period. Inaddition to the recognition of the degree of environmental impact, thisapproach makes the degree of adaptation of the habitats with the dominantenvironmental conditions possible. As geospatial tools become morepowerful, GIS archaeology has evolved as well, making it possible tovisualize ancient settlements and analyze changes in the use of space overtime. By incorporating historic map data, physical details of an area’slandscape and known information about past inhabitants, archaeologistscan accurately predict the positions of sites with cultural, historicalrelevance. In this research Iron Age III (800-550 B.C )sites in the westand northwest of Isfahan were studied via GIS. The area studied is oneof the most important but unknown areas of archaeological researchdue to its location in the center of the Iranian plateau and a link betweenthe north-west and the south-west of the country. The environmentalcharacteristics of the studied area have attracted the attention of humanssince ancient times. Therefore, it was considered necessary to conductarchaeological excavations. To achieve this goal, the area was first studiedarchaeologically. As a result of this survey, approximately 50 ancient siteswere identified which included the statistical population used for analysis.The effect of environmental variables including altitude, slope (percentageand direction), climate, geological structure, distances and proximity towater resources, land use and proximity to communication paths on thedistribution of settlements in the study area was investigated. Throughanalytical-descriptive method, the factors affecting the formation anddistribution of the establishment patterns of the period in question wereexamind. After analyzing the information and maps, the results indicatedthat among all the factors, three environmental factors were the mostimportant in the formation of ancient settlements of the Iron Age III erain the west and northwest of Isfahan: factors relating to water resources,proximity to communication paths, and slope percentage and direction.